Dominica PM makes impassioned plea for the world to help his ‘bleeding nation’

Last updated: September 23, 2017 at 22:02 pm

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The prime minister of Dominica has made a passionate appeal for the world to tackle climate change after his country was reduced to a “war zone” by Hurricane Maria.

Addressing the United Nations in New York City, Roosevelt Skerrit said there is “no more time left for conversation, there is little time for action” with his island placed on the “front line” of the climate change war.

Overnight on Monday the category five hurricane made a direct hit on Dominica, which has a population of 72,000.

The country was left uncontactable for more than 36 hours following Maria’s landfall, after which the utter devastation was revealed.

Trees lie strewn across roads and mudslides have cut off access to a number of villages, and telecommunications still remain patchy.

While the storm battered Dominica even the prime minister had to be rescued when his roof was torn off.

“What is our reality at this moment? Pure devastation, as Dominicans bear the brunt of climate change,” he told world leaders.

“I repeat: we are shouldering the consequences of the actions of others. Actions that  endanger our very existence, and all for the enrichment of a few elsewhere.

“We dug graves today in Dominica. We buried loved ones yesterday and I am sure that as I return home tomorrow, we shall discover additional fatalities, as a consequence of this encounter.

“Our homes are flattened. Our buildings roofless. Our water pipes smashed and road infrastructure destroyed. Our hospital is without power; and schools have disappeared beneath the rubble.

“Our crops are uprooted. Where there was green there is now only dust and dirt. The desolation is beyond imagination.

“The stars have fallen. Eden is broken.”

‘We need the UN to act now’

Before the 21st century no generation had seen more than one category storm in a lifetime, Skerrrit said, but two have no happened in two weeks. Hurricane Irma wrecked havoc on Caribbean neighbour Barbuda.

The hurricane season continues until the end of November.

It has only been two years since Dominica was ravaged by Tropical Storm Erika, which resulted in hundred of dollars’ of damage and 30 deaths.

To deny climate change is “to mock those thousands who in a few hours will watch the night descend in Dominica, without a roof over their head, in fear of sudden mud slides and what the next hurricane may bring.”

The prime minister has demanded that the world takes action on climate change, adding that he came to United Nations to declare “man international humanitarian emergency” that unfairly effects a country that unfairly effects citizens who have been “responsible members of the global community”.

“We, as a country and as a region, did not start this war against nature; we didn’t provoke it. The war has come to us!” he said.

“There is no more time left for conversation, there is little time for action. While the big countries talk, the small island nations suffer.

“We in the Caribbean do not produce enough greenhouse gases or sulphate aerosols. We do not pollute or overfish our oceans. We have made no contribution to global warming that can move the needle. But yet, we are among the main victims on the frontline.”

Financial impact

The economy of Dominica will be severely hit by this latest natural disaster.

Following the destruction caused by Tropical Storm Erika the government created a National Vulnerability Risk and Resilience Fund in order to improve the ability Dominica to respond to natural disasters.

But with only two years passing since, that facility has not yet been capitalised.

“We intended to place funds from our own treasury on an annual basis. But, our capacity to earn has now been significantly compromised even before we have gotten it off the ground,” he said.

“Today we need all the things required in a natural disaster that has affected an entire nation. We need water, food and emergency shelter. We need roads, bridges and new infrastructure. But we also need capabilities of delivery.

“I call upon those with substantial military capacities to lend us the rescue and rebuilding equipment that may be standing idle waiting for a war; because Dominica today is like a zone of war.”

Other facilities, like the World Bank’s Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility are “helpful”, Skerrit said, “the amounts are usually grossly inadequate to rebuild infrastructure and to maintain the gains and progress made in economic and social development.”

A fundraising effort – DominiCARElief – organised by Dominica’s high commission in London is underway. More information can be found and donations can be made at www.dominicarelief.org.